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Frenchman Benoit Paire unleashes stunning spray at Australian Open organisers
Benoit Paire leaves Australia with $100k in his pocket after having all his expenses paid for him, but he's unleashed a brutal spray on Australian Open organisers.
Frenchman Benoit Paire has taken aim at Australian Open organisers, accusing them of taking players for “idiots” and calling the tournament “really sh**”.
Paire was shown the door at Melbourne Park after a first round loss to Egor Gerasimov but he made sure those in charge knew exactly how he felt about the hotel quarantine program.
He told French outlet L’Equipe the treatment of players was “shameful”.
“I think it’s s**t, and what happened is shameful,” he said. “My level of play was good, I think my attitude was good. I hope I didn’t hurt my elbow too much. But otherwise, overall I’m very disappointed with this tournament.”
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Paire, who was forced to quarantine in Melbourne, was frustrated with the difference in treatment of those who were able to quarantine in Adelaide.
“There was also a positive case on the flight to Adelaide, but there, we had time to take blood samples, etc,” he said.
“We were told to quarantine. Either we do the same things and the same rules for everyone. I do not understand why it’s not ‘fair’ for everyone. A truncated preparation, truncated matches. To me, this is scandalous.
“Afterwards, I’m very happy with my level, with what I was able to produce today. But this tournament, frankly, I think it’s really crap.
“This match, I could have won it if I had had one or two more training sessions, a normal preparation.
“I’m going to go back ... and finally enjoy the one thing that’s right here, being able to go out, have a drink, be outside.”
Not just frustrated with Australian Open organisers, Paire called the ATP “grotesque” for its stance on money.
“It’s all about the money. That’s it, actually. There is a huge loss if they don’t make the tournament. No matter what, there has to be a tournament. Afterwards, most players think that there is a little bit of money to be made and they come for it.
“Me first, I also play for money. But if you have to make so many sacrifices and things go so badly, let it be such a hassle, at some point you just have to say stop.
“I don’t quite understand where we’re going, I don’t quite understand what ATP is doing. It becomes borderline grotesque. For me, tennis is not that. Frankly, I’m not enjoying it.”
Updates
Ultimate smackdown: Djokovic puts rivals on red alert
It has been wild opening day at the Australian Open but one thing is still the same. Melbourne Park is Novak Djokovic’s playground.
He is through to the second round after putting on an absolute clinic tonight against Jeremey Chardy.
Djokovic wins 6-3 6-1 6-2 – and it didn’t even feel as close as that.
New year, same Nole!
Looks familiar 😏@DjokerNole | #AO2021 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/KCiwLcB3Oq
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 8, 2021
Novak is on another level tonight.
Chardy is a really really good player, but Novak is making the game look way too easy
— Somdev Devvarman (@SomdevD) February 8, 2021
On paper, Novak Djokovic’s first round match could have been a testing one.
Jeremy Chardy is no easy beat, having previously been ranked as high as 25 in the world.
Well, it hasn’t played out like that.
Novak leads 6-3 6-1 2-0 and he has his eyes locked on an early night.
Kyrgios wins 6-4 6-4 6-4
After a wild first set, Nick Kyrgios reverts to a 9-5 office worker mentality for sets two and three – just taking care of business.
He wins this one in straight sets, the perfect start to his Melbourne Park campaign.
If he serves like he did tonight, he will be tough to beat no matter who he plays.
“It was special,” Kyrgios said about being on John Cain Arena.
“I appreciate you guys coming out. Obviously very strange year last year. We all overcame it together I think to make this possible. I'm just super appreciative of you guys coming out. It was amazing. It felt normal, to be honest.”
Tomic: ‘Some of the best tennis I’ve played’
Bernard Tomic has just finished speaking to the media after his first round win.
The Aussie defeated Yuichi Sugita 3-6 6-1 4-1 ret.
“I played very, very bad in the first set. (I was) a little bit nervous, it was windy, it was cold. The second and third (sets) was some of the best tennis I’ve played,” he said.
“It is good. It is a great feeling. Am I overly excited? Probably not but it’s good to be back I guess at this level. I played some solid tennis in quallies and I’m just happy to be here.”
Tomic’s next match will be against the winner of Jannik Sinner and Denis Shapovalov.
Nick Kyrgios is really flying now. He will be off the court in no time after going up a break in this third set.
For someone who was under an injury cloud, he has been brilliant tonight.
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic is already up and early break against Jeremy Chardy.
There are more big names on the way!
Look who's back 👀@DjokerNole | #AO2021 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/mhX7l3hw78
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 8, 2021
Kyrgios serving bombs: Goes up 2-0
After the drama of the opening set, that was a rather easy second set for Nick Kyrgios.
He picked up an early break and that was all she wrote. The serve is working an absolute treat.
If he can get through in straight sets, that will be great for his health going forward.
For those playing at home, there were no underarm serves or requests for girlfriends to leave.
FROM 'GRIM' TO A GRAND SLAM WIN
After three operations to repair damage caused by a stress fracture in his foot, James Duckworth acknowledged things looked “pretty grim” for him.
But the Aussie battler’s remarkable story of persistence came full circle on Monday when he claimed his first Grand Slam victory since 2016, toppling Damir Dzumhur in straight sets to make it through to the second round of the Australian Open.
Duckworth’s career reached the crossroads when his body failed him in 2017 and put him out of the game for 18 months.
“There was quite a few periods where I just wasn’t improving, and the surgeons that I’d spoken to weren’t 100 per cent sure that the different procedures we tried were going to work, so there was a fair bit of uncertainty there," Duckworth said.
“I couldn’t run, I couldn’t jump, I couldn’t hop.
“I never thought about giving up, but there were some times where it was looking pretty grim.”
It’s that tough period that has given the 29-year-old Sydney-sider a greater appreciation of moments like his 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win over the Bosnian.
“Going through that year and a half was — tennis-wise, the worst year and a half I’ve ever had in my career,” he said.
“I definitely appreciate being healthy and playing these events and winning matches like these a lot more after going through those rough periods.”
In that 2016 clash at the US Open, Duckworth knocked off Dutchman Robin Hasse in five sets, but his second-round clash gets a lot tougher, with Canadian wunderkind Felix Auger-Aliassime lying in wait.
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